Where the Spider Lily Sleeps
by birdbytheshore
Summary: Exiled for a crime he didn't commit, Dustcloud wanders into a surreal world where water shines on the night of the new moon and every paw step is on sacred ground. He soon learns that these cats are preparing for a war against a rival clan and must ask himself if his new clan is worth dying for. Create-a-cat, submissions through PM ONLY


**_Where the Spider Lily Sleeps_**

Exiled for a crime he didn't commit, Dustcloud wanders into a surreal world where water shines on the night of the new moon and every paw step is on sacred ground. The rules of the forest mandate that the first cat a newcomer sees will become his partner in life and they will develop a bond closer than that of mates, siblings, or friends. He soon learns that these cats are preparing for a war against a rival clan and his nights are plagued with terrible but hazy dreams. He must ask himself if this war that has nothing to do with him is worth dying for, and if it is, what does that mean for his future here?

[Create-a-cats to be submitted by PM ONLY. Please go to my profile page for the forms and info.]

**_Chapter One: _**_In the Heart of Hearts_

Dry reeds along the lake rustled in the wind, the water's surface broken with ripples as it formed an endless tirade against the shore. Shifting shadows branched out over the spread of flat land between lake and forest, stretching into deformed claws as the branches swayed with the flow. The area was quiet for sunhigh, no patrols in sight. Life in the forest was reduced to the hum of insects and the occasional bird flittering onto another tree. Ahead the water's edge gleamed, the Greenleaf Twoleg place empty for once. Perhaps the approaching rain had driven the strange creatures inside their dens.

The rain was a few hours off, the sky still clear blue without any trace of clouds. The air smelled sweetly of grass, slightly heavy and moist. The others would be tucked away in their dens, curled against their clanmates as they watched the water patter down on the camp, warm and dry. Some brave apprentice souls might dart outside for laughs and miserably slink back in with wet, clumped together fur. Eventually the sky would clear and leave the forest's inhabitants to slowly reemerge into the damp undergrowth, picking their paw steps with caution.

Where I would be when the first drops fell was a mystery. My ears flickered against my head at the unpleasant thought that tonight I might be crouching in the shallow shelter of a tree, soaked and cold without even the stars for guidance. What lay beyond the Twoleg place was a deep mystery that no cat had ever bothered investigating. We had no reason to stretch our meager numbers further. Not that we had always had such a small Clan, but from my days in the nursery I could remember no different.

With heavy paws, I tread onto the dead wooden surface of the half bridge, gave a cursory glance over the empty area, and set a quick pace to cover the unnatural distance. A small Thunderpath lay just beyond the flat place, but there were no sounds from it today. Still, I cast a careful look over the expanse and crept across to the other side. Elders loved to tell tales of apprentices and warriors who met their end on those paths. While it hadn't happened to anyone in recent times, a cat could never be too careful.

The Thunderpath stretched into the forest, a thin black line slicing through dark, swaying trees. Scary as the Twoleg thing was, I deemed it safer to keep the path in sight for a while. The forest beyond ShadowClan territory was unmarked, wild land. Should I become lost, there would be no possible way to return. Knowing that the opposite direction was home comforted me somewhat, despite the circumstances. Until I had an idea of what lay ahead, I decided to follow wherever this unnatural path took me.

The fact that when the day ended and the sun sank into the horizon I would stop and crawl into whatever crevice was available had not yet hit me. The others would be safe in their dens, friends and family around them and I was never to see them again. It was an impossible idea. There had been no life altering events in store for me before this day. Recounting every motion I went through in the past moon, I could find no indication of doing anything unusual. Six moons ago I received my warrior name and from that point on had been assigned tasks of graduating difficulty.

Yarrowkit and Icepaw had disappeared, but they were distant relations of mine. I never interacted with the kit's mother or the apprentice, as Icepaw had recently emerged from the nursery. One day the two simply disappeared, no trace of them anywhere on any cat or any twig in the territory. Icepaw never showed for the evening after her morning practice with her mentor. Not even the best trackers could find a hair. No foxes or badgers had shown up lately and Icepaw had been a big kit, too heavy for a bird to steal.

Somehow, the medicine cat received a sign from StarClan that directed her on a persistent search for the culprit behind the missing cats. She spent hours away from her den with her apprentice Nightpaw and visited the Moonpool more often than she slept. The devotion paid off; every cat pointed tails at me when the small she-cat announced my traitorous behavior last night. Four senior warriors took turns sitting vigil over me as I slept restlessly in the exposed center of camp. I dared not breathe a peep. My head had spun too quickly for me to come to any defense or conclusion.

To make a short process an even shorter story, Froststar had declared that I could never return on the promise of death. The other clans were advised to ignore any attempts I might make to switch loyalties, as I had already betrayed one Clan. For every life she possessed though, Froststar could not force a confession from me. The deputy cuffed my head until the world spun and clumps of fur were stuck to his paws, but there was no possible way to reveal the location of the missing cats.

Had the betrayal not been so devastating, I might have cared more about finding the two lost she-cats, if only to assert that they had been wrong and I was right. At the time, walking swiftly along the familiar forest floor with head lowered, tail whiskers quivering, I had wanted nothing more than to escape those accusing glares. As I trotted along the shore it occurred to me that perhaps _I_ didn't want a Clan so ready to abandon and toss me off the cliff. All thoughts of finding Icepaw and Yarrowkit fled from my head.

Not a single one of my friends or littermates said a single word. They _looked_ guilty enough for crouching away with ears pulled against their skulls and opened their mouths as if they _did_ want to step forward. But no matter how long I waited, it was still my voice against Froststar and Elmspot with StarClan on their sides. Perhaps I had lost the will to protest after a point, seeing no further purpose in wasting my breath. I hadn't said anything since this morning and my tongue already felt heavy in my mouth.

At least water was no worry for today. The rain was going to be a downpour, I was almost sure of it. My whiskers twitched, the air surrounding them carrying a different texture than normal. My paws moved endlessly over the lightly scattered brambles, no destination in sight, and no rest necessary. Food was a very far away concept, a minor detail I might have to fulfill sooner or later. In the shade the sun wasn't unbearable; the pace was comfortable, as if I were out on a leisurely walk.

The sky dimmed sometime later, after I had taken a few breaks and scouted out the area. All other creatures had scurried away into their dens or nests to brace for the storm and the forest was deathly still. The lake's rivers didn't extend here and the Thunderpath was still empty. Squinting against the sun's glare, I peered at the sky between overarching branches. A grey tinge had definitely spread across the cloudless space. The air began to take on the scent of the damp must that came before rain.

Padding deeper into the forest, I eventually found a low dip in the land and arranged a few sparse brambles around a small alcove at the base of a felled tree. Then I sat around and waited for the first drop to strike my nose.

The sky had darkened into stormy grays and blacks when I crawled into my shelter, sharp cracks of thunder and lightning rumbling in the distance. The rain was cold and penetrating, my paws soon resting in a pool of mud and my fur dripping. I closed my eyes and pretended I was elsewhere, somewhere warm where this harsh reality didn't exist, where everything was normal again. That night the stars and moon were absent, the darkness whole and complete. Everything that lived huddled in silence, as if in waiting for some terrible omen to come alive.

Dawn broke through the canopy in dappled golden and pink hues, the swift, cold rumbles of monsters on the Thunderpath piercing the peaceful mutterings of the forest. Sore and miserably wet, I crawled out from my hiding spot and chose a clean patch of sunlight to bathe myself in. A shallow hunger pounded in my stomach from seeing little creatures scurry in the undergrowth and hearing the birdcalls in the branches above. First and foremost was cleanliness, though. Smoothing out the ruffled patches until they were decent, I then basked in the pleasant glow until most of my coat had dried.

With a long stretch, I trotted into the forest in search of prey. Usually the more experienced hunters spotted the catch. Many pairs of ears made for quick scouting, but I soon discovered just how hard individual hunting was. The other sounds and the gnawing hunger distracted me, made me antsy and rash as an apprentice. I had considered myself a decent hunter before.

One meal and the morning later, I retracted my scent back towards the Thunderpath until the rumbles were within earshot. And I continued, lapping at puddles of rainwater when thirst struck me, aimless in destination. My mind was blank, wandering over subjects for a brief moment before flitting away to the subtleties in nature. Wondering why and how hurt my head and made me realize that every paw step was another tail length away from home, another distance I could never retrace.

The sun and moon alternated three times before anything really changed. The Thunderpath had made some turns and branched off several times, which I took in stride by selecting whichever way felt comfortable. The forest remained relatively the same. There were deer here and there, but most dangerous predators probably stayed away from the Thunderpath. When the rainwater dried up I spent more time searching for streams or rivers, always a little hungry no matter how long I hunted. Though it was hard and I had a feeling I failed, I tried to maintain my coat.

The endless days of traveling were beginning to take their toll on my body, though. Every night my paws were heavy as stone and every morning I woke with increasing reluctance to continue. Several times I botched a catch due to those heavy paws and felt the urge to wail like a lost kit, hoping my mother would come and brush away my worries. Besides the occasional words of frustration, I didn't speak. I'd never gone so long without meowing so much as a passing greeting.

I kept my thoughts far away from remembering, far away from the possibility that I might never settle down anywhere. During the nights this was easy; my body collapsed into sleep at any given opportunity. The days were harder.

The sun rose for the fourth time and sunhigh crept closer as I trotted along with numb paws and legs. The forest had thinned out somewhat after awhile and I had the innate sense that water was nearby, some large amount of it. As I drew closer to this water I realized it must be a large source since I didn't hear the rushing current of a river. For a few moments I tasted the air, mouth ajar and whiskers twitching at the top of a small swell. Leaping down the short space, I started forward at a faster pace than before.

That was when I realized how the weather had taken a turn for the weird. Greenleaf was almost over, but the nights and days were by no means chilly yet. The sun was still high in the sky and very warm if I paused to bask in it. Perplexed, I slowed to a walk and steadily covered ground while surveying the surrounding area. Sunhigh should have made the air hot and heavy, the sunlight almost overbearing. Several times over the past few days had forced me into the shade until the heat passed.

Life had returned, however. There was more in the distance than little prey animals and the birds were rather loud. The scents were too faint for an inexperienced nose to pinpoint but I knew they were there. Certain patches of grass I stepped into were hardened chunks covered in frost, much to my surprise and confusion at first. The cold that pierced my pads was too real to be imaginary, yet this was clearly impossible. Even during the cold moons grass thawed by sunhigh. For a while I crouched down and sniffed the spot, eyeing the trampled outline of my paw.

Eventually I moved on and ignored the frozen patches and generally cold air, the whole day still ahead. The water did grow closer, but I was unable to see any of it through the trees. These were leafy trees with the occasional evergreen sprinkled here and there, some with pale trunks and some with dark bark. They all arched over the forest floor, spreading lightly dappled shadows over me. Very few had low-reaching branches and none could be scaled by even the most skilled cat. The underbrush here was sparse, the grass clean except where it was frozen.

Little yellow dandelions dotted the grasses, as well as an assortment of herbs I didn't know the names of. Some colorful flowers with no medical properties grew in bright patches, but none of these were frozen or wilted despite the weather. They were in full bloom wherever they grew.

At some point when the water was so close I could taste it, the flowers had disappeared. There were still herbs that blended in with the grass, but all color except for red had been washed away. Near the water all that grew were red flowers quite unlike any others I'd seen before. Investigating one, I found that the petals were long and thin, spread out so that they intertwined with the surrounding flowers. Some were not yet in bloom; these were merely green leafy plants. Strangely, the bright red was broken only by blades of grass. The leaves did not grow on ones with petals.

Curiosity aside, thirst overcame me when I saw the decent sized lake down a gently sloping hill. Taking a moment to stand among the flowers, I surveyed the land. The lake was small with a few rivers and streams branching away into the forest. Unlike back home, the trees were sparse everywhere and broken by Twoleg nests with white borders sectioning off gardens. A single Thunderpath wound through the area, never branching out too far in one direction and covering the length of the lake. Not a very bad place to live, besides the Twoleg nests, I considered. More of those red flowers dotted the land.

I picked my way down to the lake, a life in my limbs that hadn't been there before. For the first time in days my tail swayed and twitched, my ears facing forward and head held up. I looked rather horrible on the water's surface and devoted some time to cleaning what mess I could after a long drink. The water didn't taste any different from normal water, but it was a bit cold. The sun of course was still warm and high in the sky.

If only there were other cats around, friendly cats, I would seriously consider staying here. Not speaking to anyone ever again was a scary thought, one I had some time to think about during the journey here. I sniffed around the lake, leaving the hill behind as I trailed through the flat surface beside the water. There were scents of prey animals- rabbits, squirrels, mice, everywhere. It made my mouth water but I couldn't find any at the moment. They were probably eating their sunhigh meal.

Finally, I caught the scent of cats. It was a heavy scent intermingled with the prey animals'. It was impossible to tell if they were hostile, but at least they smelled nothing like ShadowClan. This was different, but not threatening yet. Confident that I would be able to find the lake again, I set off into the sparse forest in search of these elusive cats. It was not a very fresh smell, perhaps half a day old, but if they lived here without clans or even with just two, maybe they didn't refresh borders so often.

Paws tingling as they turned onto a much fresher trail, I sped up the pace until I was almost running. I did slow eventually, but the exhilaration had been worth the spent energy. Tonight would not be another night of passing out from empty exhaustion with the feeling that I had gotten nothing accomplished. Sometimes it seemed as if I hadn't travel at all.

After three and a half days of intermediate thoughts on chances of survival, I came upon them. This was a group of young cats with an older warrior, divided down the middle in clear breaks between the more solid looking cats and slimmer, agile ones. This warrior was clearly in charge with an air of authority around him. A surge of anxiety rushed into my throat and I slunk back the way I came without a sound, paws as soft as if I'd been stalking a mouse. Maybe they weren't friendly to outsiders. It'd be strange to burst in and exclaim how happy I was to find kin again.

As it turned out, I didn't have to make the tough decision. Ears swiveling on their own accord, I heard them before I turned and saw a thin group led by the senior warrior. I crouched with belly against the grass, ears narrowed and tail tucked against my haunches, but open enough to show I meant no harm. There was no hostility in their poses, surprisingly, not even a vague sense of shock. No, that was a lie- one of them looked surprised. Not in the worst way imaginable.

He was a light grey tabby tom bordering on silver. I still clearly recall the events of that day with a special brilliance cats usually do not possess. The scents, the sudden patches of cold melting beneath my pads, the spidery red flowers, the cold nipping at my ears, are all very distinct. When I first gazed upon him there was no flash of recognition or special connection, only faint curiosity. Worry overrode me at that moment, but he is still a very separate piece of those odd events.

"You're a Clan cat?" the senior warrior meowed, more of a statement than a question. Nodding, I pricked my ears forward, unable to understand how these cats knew about the Clans while we had never heard of any outside of the Tribe that lived in the mountains. Obviously this cat knew what he was talking about, and he meant a cat from the Clans I had known my entire life. He answered my nod with one of his own and flicked his ears in the direction of the silver tabby. "Alright, not so bad; you don't seem like a bad cat. Can we get a name?"

I blinked and straightened when I figured they were not hostile and ready to attack. Some had wandered away already. Opening my mouth, I had to cough a few times using my unused throat despite having drunk my fill earlier.

"Dustcloud," I meowed. Froststar had decided upon a name I was not wholly satisfied with, but it stuck as all names did. I would have preferred something normal like 'Dustpelt' or 'Dustfur'. Being a cloud made me feel a bit weak, somewhat nonexistent, the fact that dust was thin not helping at all. I could have lamented over my name for days, but decided long ago to accept whatever the leader chose.

"Cedarthorn," the dark ginger warrior replied. I noted with mild surprise that these cats used the warrior naming system, too. By this point I should have been done with surprises. For the most part I accepted things as they were all my life. If I was curious, I held my tongue and observed. If I was concerned, I said something.

"Can I ask…who are you all? How do you know about the clans?" I meowed to the amusement of the other cats. Their tails swished in good humor. Cedarthorn stepped forward, large paws soft against the ground. He pointed with his tail towards a brown tabby tom when he stopped. I peered closer without moving position and focused on the cat for awhile. They all seemed to be enjoying a secret joke I had no access to- until I realized why this tabby was familiar. "_Beechfur,_" I gaped.

The brown tabby bounded forward with a healthy step and nearly touched noses with me. He was a WindClan warrior who'd disappeared before my apprenticeship ended. "It's me. I see they got you, too. Well, don't worry. These are nice cats- well, most of them," he meowed with a chuckle. He seemed to be referencing a specific cat or cats there. "I'll spare you all the confusion I had when I stumbled upon them. They don't have any official clan name, but their ancestors learned from a Clan cat or two, that's why they have warrior names and customs.

"Of course, they're _a lot_ different than what you and I were used to. Point is that they take in whatever Clan cats come across this place without a doubt. There're a few of us here, but I'm not sure if you remember them. You were still an apprentice when I left, after all. Congratulations, by the way," he added as an afterthought. I blinked and relaxed my tensed muscles, a little more comfortable but even more confused. Beechfur seemed to understand my feelings pretty well, but refused to divulge any further information.

"You'll learn as you go," he meowed. "You're a tough tom to make so far, after all."

By this time the other cats had lost total interest. Only Beechfur, Cedarthorn, and the silver tabby remained. The tabby seemed on his toes, anxious to leave but somehow frozen to the spot.

"There's probably one thing you should know before going into all this, though," Beechfur added. He nodded over at the silver tabby tom and nudged me forward with his nose and paws. We were pretty close when he let me sit still. "This is Willowleaf. Willowleaf, this is Dustcloud. Say hello and make nice because you're partners for the rest of your lives whether you want it or not. But, I have a feeling you'll get along well. When you're done we'll be right over there. We were about to go back to camp."

Beechfur and Cedarthorn darted off before I could take more than two breaths and process the information. I spun around helplessly, one paw suspended in the air until I realized they weren't coming back. Technically, I could just get up and leave but it seemed only right to stay. Reluctant, I looked the tabby in his eyes. They were a normal green. He seemed kind of reluctant too, as if he were fighting the instinctual urge to flee at the sign of danger.

"What did he mean about partners?" I asked after awhile of staring at each other. The concept was as strange as the weather. He didn't answer for a time and looked at his paws as if they had the answer pinned to the ground.

"It's a bit of a rule here," he explained. His voice was kind of quiet, but strong. Not like my unsteady voice at all. "Everyone takes a partner by the time they leave their apprenticeship, typically. Some, like me, just haven't found one yet. But to make it easier for cats like you to fit in, the first cat you see who doesn't have a partner becomes yours. So we're together for life. Of course, sometimes it doesn't work out so well. Some cats just can't like each other no matter how many years pass. But it's safer this way."

"So what are…partners?" I meowed, leaving out my curiosity about why it was 'safer this way'. I had a feeling it was one of those questions better left unanswered. He might not talk about it if I asked.

"Partners are closer than friends, siblings, or mates- or they should be. Usually the bond is stronger than any other, even if the cats don't particularly like each other. I mean, most don't even do the same things with each other. Some hunt, some fight, others defend," he elaborated. Apparently these cats liked to lean towards one skill or the other. That was fine with me. I wasn't particularly good at fighting and the past few days proved that I wasn't very skilled at hunting alone.

Still, this thing about being closer to this stranger than anyone I would ever meet unnerved me of course. Most would expect their mates to be the cats they formed the strongest bonds with. Probably, most mates were partners. That would be so much easier. Why couldn't that have happened? Then again, I wouldn't have wanted to be stuck with one she-cat as a mate without first knowing her. Willowleaf pawed the ground and swished his tail back and forth.

"Though most partners are mates, not all pairs are," he said before standing and swerving to move around me. I stared after him and followed him over the little mound of rocks to the others. Every cat's individual scent assaulted my nose. It's a hard thing to describe- the individuality of others. Willowleaf would become so familiar that the scent would eventually become an extension of me, but at the time I hadn't known that. The influx of new arrivals was dizzying. ThunderClan was rather small in comparison to the other clans. I was used to the same cats I knew since birth.

The forest was still a very quiet place as we stalked off into its depths where the trunks grew a little closer together. Sounds around us were almost muted presences, as if heard through filtered ears in a dream. The others spoke in low tones, passing like clouds over the forest floor and leaving no traces behind. Besides the fresh-kill and the tiny birds flitting in the treetops, there were no other forms of life in sight. The air was silent, holding its breath indefinitely, eating up the usual noise of a forest.

Willowleaf padded beside me, thin legs swift and soundless against the springy grass. Of course, there were the occasional patches of frost, but he seemed to have an innate ability to glide past them without disturbing a single crystal. He might have been a moon older or younger and I would never be able to guess from his movements. There was no doubt that he was a young tom, but I had little to compare with. Six months ago there had been no other apprentices ready to become warriors. We were all of varying ages.

This forest was quite unremarkable. There were few landmarks and even fewer scent markers, a curious thing. Every area was identical to the last and the way to the camp seemed endless. The sky appeared in large gaps between the widespread trees, a grey overcast threatening more rain. Almost on reflex my ears folded backwards and a shiver rolled down my spine. Though it yielded no exciting sights, I kept my eyes focused ahead of us. If I continued to live here, I would have to learn this path sooner or later.

Pale trees quivered as a wind blew through, bending the branches high above our heads. The howl was also muted, the sound between the gusts and trees hollow. Just as the situation had fallen neatly between my paws, so did the sound as it folded into an orderly stack in my mind. This long howl, more like a whine in its consistency, would rest there for a time until I was ready to retrieve it. At the moment, all memory of that sound had disappeared as soon as it had come. My ears flickered, nothing more.

Compared with the harsh terrain on the journey here, this ground was blissfully soft. I felt that if I wished to sink my claws into the earth, they would glide right through. Walking was an easy feat and I was soon able to understand how the others could trot over the grass and ferns as if they were clouds. It was a monotonous process, quick paced without feeling as if we were actually getting somewhere. We were running for the sake of running- that was how it felt. Where we wound up was of little consequence.

Eventually we did slow to a complete halt, such a long time off from when we started that I wondered if we hadn't gone in circles. By the end my chest heaved for air and I unconsciously dug my claws into the yielding earth. The land we stood on gently sloped into a small clearing where the trees were sparse. Slightly raised swells once beaten down by streams created by floodwaters had been made into dens. The ground there was hardened; great tides of water had not flushed through this area in a long time.

The others trotted down and dispersed across the camp, disappearing into dens, greeting cats, depositing their fresh-kill in a central pile, ultimately unconcerned with me. Cedarthorn flicked his tail in a command to follow him as he picked his way downhill. I glanced about, head lowered and wary footed as he neatly leapt on top of slopes and towards a willowy, dilapidated tree that had seen better days. The barest specks of green peeked from its ashen grey and brown limbs, the trunk torn by lightning so that one half rested on the ground. Its coiling branches were dried, twisted snakes just barely clinging to the main body.

Two toms and a she-cat were crouched in the shadowy tendrils, long bars striking through their coats as they conspired. Each narrowed his or her eyes as we approached, the toms quickly taking leave when Cedarthorn stopped at the edge of their veiled little world. The she-cat remained, eyes not quite so narrowed and an unreadable expression between her twitching whiskers. With a careful grace she stood and padded over, paws positioned neatly before her, tail curled and tucked against her body.

"So they continue their games," she contemplated, almost hummed with amusement. Her words confused me, but I dared not ask what she meant by them. As before, Cedarthorn seemed in on this private joke. "In any case, your name is…?"

"Dustcloud," I meowed after a moment's pause to see if it was truly my place to answer. Cedarthorn delivered a short, brief nod before inclining his head to the ginger she-cat and trotting off in the opposite direction. Though he had not been an acquaintance for more than an hour at most, I felt distinctly lost at his absence.

"I am Rosestar, Dustcloud. As you can assume, I lead the cats you see here. Most of us are 'clan born' as you like to describe it, but there are some like you that come from _your_ Clans- and some that are rogues from distant walks of earth. It is you and your partner's ultimate decision to remain here of course, as the…land is not always suited to every cat, but perhaps in time you will learn why we choose to stay. I fear I cannot offer any more guidance on the matter now, but feel free to ask around if you're confused."

All said and done, the ginger she-cat tilted her head a fragment and agilely twisted around the corner of the great, weeping willow, the very tip of her tail the last bit of color fleeing from the scene. The earth tones restored, the camp regained that sense of timelessness I had experienced in the forest. Glancing around slowly, I felt no awkwardness and could have remained in that spot for some time before moving. If not for the silver tabby, I might have been able to wait for the long-reaching shadows to shift over my head as the day grew short.

Willowleaf walked up to me, following my every twitch with steady green eyes before resting upon my own. He leaned closer and told me a statement that to him seemed very simple, almost unnecessary to even speak of.

"Nothing you see at night is reality. You walk the dreams of others and others walk the dreams of yours."

* * *

><p>The first chapter is an old draft for this story. However, as stories cannot have lists or non-chapters, it will remain as a placeholder until I can rewrite it. Most of what happens in this chapter is true to the edited version, but names of cats will differ. I just wanted to get my list of cats before I went any further in the story.<p>

Again, please go to my profile page for submission info and only submit through PM.


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